Apricity
by Mcxynth
Summary: Shiho would've said another biting complaint - she already felt the words in her throat - but one glance at his bright blue eyes and suddenly she didn't know how to speak. This was what she meant by him being her weakness. Written for the CoAi Discord's Secret Santa Exchange.


Merry Christmas, RiceLord! This is your secret santa gift. c:

Hope you like it!

(Cross-posted to AO3)

* * *

**_apricity_**

* * *

The snow shone white, the skies dimmed gray, and had it not been for the evergreen trees and this young man walking ahead of her, Shiho would be blinded by the dull whiteness of it all.

She promised herself this would be the last time she'll accompany him on one of his missions. But she promised that last time, and the time before that. Suffice to say, he had always been her weakness. (Damn him.) And it's that weakness that got her stuck on this quest of his to be an official agent of the Court.

Shiho didn't like the particular path they took up the mountain, because she knew there were other ways that were mostly snow and devoid of _climbing._

_"It's a shortcut," _he had said.

"Do remind me," she started, her eyes trained on this infuriating young man walking ahead of her, "why I'm the one you dragged into this nonsensical treasure hunt disguised as a quest."

Shinichi looked back at her, his eyes showing his exasperation. "I didn't _drag _you into this," he drawled, as if he had repeated those words countless times. (He did, but Shiho didn't care.) He prodded at the snow-covered ledge in front of him, as if to test its hold, before hoisting himself up. Once settled, he turned to Shiho and held out a hand. "I _requested,_ and you _agreed._"

"I never knew following me around for three days babbling on about the assessment, the quest, and the latest fabrics and glass vials counted as _requesting_." She scowled, before taking his hand and grasping stone with her other hand. "If nothing else, I'd count that as bribing."

After he had pulled her up, Shiho patted her knees to rid them of snow. Shinichi turned again to the path, his head scanning the rest of their way up. "I know you enough to know you don't do things you don't want to." Glancing back at her, he smirked.

Having nothing else to say, Shiho replied with a glare. Satisfied, Shinichi turned and walked ahead, while Shiho trudged forward to match his steps.

Glancing to the side, she let herself see how far they had gotten. The gentle fall of perpetual snow started halfway up the mountain, blanketing their footsteps and coating the evergreen trees. Her eyes scanned the snow, the path, and the foot of the mountain leading to the tiny specks of a village. The view would have been beautiful had it not been for the dull silver skies.

Her breaths came out in irregular puffs of white, her steps in harmony with the muffled clinks of vials and potions stashed in her knapsack.

"We're nearly there, anyway," Shinichi said. Shiho turned back to him. "You can stop sulking soon."

She scowled. "I'm not sulking."

He rolled his eyes. "You are."

Clicking her tongue, Shiho decided not to reply.

They trudged on in silence, with Shiho's occasional _this is such a hassle _and other complaints as she followed Shinichi, who'd reply with a half-hearted _yeah, yeah _before asking her opinions - for the umpteenth time - regarding their objective_._

The fact that Shinichi always shrugged off her complaints, seemingly assuming they were all empty mutterings, infuriated her. (Because he was right, she didn't do things she didn't want to, but he didn't need to hear her agree.) But she rolled her eyes and went along with it. That's how it had always been for the past three years they've known each other, since he had brought her into the capital following a confrontation with the Black Order.

"There."

Shiho blinked, cut off from her inner musing. Shinichi wore a grin, his eyes gazing at something in the distance. Tiptoeing, she tried to see the cause of his energy when she felt his hand clasp hers. She almost gasped. _Almost._

Fortunately for her, he didn't notice her flinch (as usual). His hand tight around her own, Shinichi hastened his steps. Shiho would've said another biting complaint - she already felt the words in her throat - but one glance at his bright blue eyes and suddenly she didn't know how to speak.

This was what she meant by him being her weakness.

What an infuriating young man.

* * *

At first, Shiho thought the source of his giddiness was an old cabin nestled at a clearing. When they had arrived, cutting shortcuts through the trees and sliding down a short snowy ledge, she was too tired to look past the only object obvious enough to see with a glance.

She had muttered another uncomplimentary remark about his happiness over a cabin - which looked more like a rundown shack to her - but Shinichi blocked it off. Laughing, he continued leading her forward.

_"Not that," _he had said. _"Look behind it."_

And now, Shiho couldn't find it in herself to look away.

The frozen lake shone in the daylight, mirroring the blue sky, the evergreen trees, and the white mountain. It seemed to sparkle, looking so clear she was almost afraid to walk near it.

Shinichi stood quiet beside her. She felt his gaze, but she shrugged it off, too tired to deal with his mockery. In their awe, they seemed to have missed three small figures staring at them from the side.

"Humans?"

When they spoke, Shiho and Shinichi flinched before turning to the three figures - kids - floating to them from on top of the lake.

It turned out the three kids - two boys and one girl - were fairies who lived by the lake. They immediately showered them with questions - why were they there, where did they come from, and _were they a couple?_

Shiho caught herself from sputtering at the last question, and Shinichi - quick-thinking as he is - returned the subject to their objective, proceeding to ask the kids questions about the lake.

The kids were little balls of energy, and she found that their exuberant exclamations were a welcome quality to the beauty of the lake.

Shinichi talked with them, laughing and joking. Amused, she tapped his arm and told him she'll be in the cabin to fix their things, rest her exhausted feet (which was his fault, she added), and maybe prepare something to eat. He let her take his pack - she didn't let him argue - and walked towards the humble cabin.

Once inside, she put down her pack on the sole bed and his on the floor beside it. There was a small fireplace with several unlit logs and a modest kitchen comprised of a stove and small counter. In the middle was a table with two chairs.

Shiho opened her bag, browsing her vials for one with a pale yellow liquid and another with a mildly gurgling red. She set down the first on the bed and walked to the fireplace with the other. Crouching, she reached in her pocket for two smooth black stones and dribbled them with some of the red liquid.

As the stones sizzled, she threw them to the logs, letting the embers fester into flames. She stayed there for a while, closing her eyes and letting the warmth seep into her.

When she heard more of the logs crackle, she stood up and returned the vial to her bag. After searching Shinichi's bag for a pack of cold bread and the frying pan she forced him to bring, she took the remaining vial and proceeded to the kitchen.

There was a window beside the table, and as she passed by, she watched Shinichi and the kids, still playing around and laughing in the snow by the lake.

She smiled, gazing at them for a few moments. Time seemed to slow in this place, she mused. With every tinkling laughter she heard from the kids, followed by _his_ boyish laughter, a little of her exhaustion melted away. She left her expression as it is, even as she started slicing the bread and preparing the stove. There wasn't any Shinichi to comment on her change of mood, so she let herself bask in the stillness of the cabin.

* * *

As Shiho flipped the first batch of toasts, she heard Shinichi's footsteps by the door. With her eyes on the pan, she said, "The snow stays by the door."

She heard Shinichi's movements stop, heard his grumbles as he stepped back, following what she said. Shiho smirked, glancing back at him. She watched him stop by his pack to drop his coat before sauntering towards her.

"Smells promising," he started. Shiho knew what was coming next.

"No."

He raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"No, you are not allowed to help me."

Shinichi sighed, begrudgingly. He kept his hands in his pocket then, eyeing the pan from beside the table.

Only a few seconds of that before Shiho gave in. She turned back to the stove. "But you could set the table and prepare something to drink." In the corner of her eyes, she watched his eyes brighten. She hid a smile.

As they worked on their tasks, Shinichi began talking about their objective, the _"Silver Wings of the North Lake Fairy", _as the card he received called. After talking to the kids, he deduced the Silver Wings may be unrelated to _fairies_, because the kids had no idea what he was talking about, and unrelated to _wings, _because the kids had no wings. They couldn't even fly, only hover and float for a short amount of time.

Shiho sighed. "So, we're back to square one?" she almost-grumbled, handing Shinichi a small spoon to stir their drinks with.

Taking the spoon and stirring with one hand, Shinichi hummed. "Nah," he paused, raising the spoon and tipping a few drops towards his lips, "we were right about the lake, at least."

"And you're sure how?"

"This is the only lake in the North with fairies."

Shiho turned her head at that, raising an eyebrow. "Says who?"

"Says them," Shinichi gestured to the lake. Upon hearing no reply, he smiled. Looking down, he moved his hand to the next cup and stirred. "They said they haven't had company for a long time. We're welcome to stay for as long as we want."

Shiho returned her gaze to the pan, lifting it to flip the toasts. _Like hell I'd want to stay _was what she would have said, but as she glanced out the window into the lake, she found she didn't mind staying a little longer than planned. "Did they say how long is 'a long time'?" she asked softly.

There was a pause, before she heard the tinkling of a spoon continue. "No. But they sort of implied at least... a decade."

Letting out a muffled sigh, Shiho allowed a frown to cross her features.

Another pause. She felt his stare on her as she passed the toasts to a plate and started on another batch. "Judging by your reaction," he said. "I assume we're on the same page, about where they got their fairy nature."

She passed him the plate of toasts and he turned to set it on the table. "It wasn't natural." Another poignant pause followed her statement, joined only by the crackling of burning wood, the sizzling oil on the pan, and the slight shuffling of plates and cups Shinichi was setting on the table. "But it's none of our business."

She knew she didn't have to say that - she knew he knew - but in saying so, Shiho hoped he got what she wanted to get across: _They were too late._

As she turned to the table to pass the last batch of toasts - Shinichi was already seated, stirring his coffee, watching her - Shiho noticed the light outside had dimmed. Gazing out the window, she noted the grayer sky and how it dulled the light from the lake.

Shinichi voiced out her thoughts. "Do you think they can come here and eat?"

She smiled. "Go ask them," she paused before smirking, "make yourself useful."

He scoffed, but not enough to hide a smile. "Yeah, yeah," he said as he stood up and shuffled out the door.

Shiho cleared up and turned off the stove before settling into her seat in front of the table. Clutching her cup, she let the silence of the cabin seep into her mind.

Wooden walls and floor, a small wooden table, a meager kitchen. Save for the logs burning in the modest fireplace, the cabin was still. _Like a painting, _Shiho mused, a mocking smile on her face. _I'm in a painting. _A painting depicting a peaceful winter, the warm glow of a fire contrasting the whiteness of snow outside the window.

As her mind wandered, her hand traced the grooves on the table.

And wooden table morphed to metal - a drab, monotonous metal cluttered with vials of different sizes. There was no cabin; only a wide, cold room with slate walls and a low ceiling. Above her, a long slab of hardened fire-tree sap glowed a dingy yellow, the only light source.

Shiho froze and blinked. She returned to the cabin. Grasping the edge of the table, she took a deep breath.

_Different_, she thought. She closed her eyes, letting her shoulders relax. The air she breathed, the voices outside, the people she met, her new job, her new _life_ was a far cry from the world she was born into. From dark closed rooms, she was brought into a bright wide world. A world where, she felt, she could be... _free_.

Shiho looked towards the lake, at a group of four noisily making their way to the cabin. _What a word that is, "free". _Shiho smiled, as if to mock herself. She picked up her cup and took a sip, pushing away all wandering apparitions and images. Her thoughts were going nowhere, she supposed. Maybe it was the result of a day's worth of trekking up a mountain. At least she had someone to blame for that.

Footsteps and loud excited voices - Shiho could hear _his _lowchuckles among the high-pitched tones - rang from outside. Shinichi opened the door, followed by the three young fairies who immediately scurried to the table, staring at the food.

"What's gotten into you?"

Shiho turned to Shinichi. His eyebrows were raised, curious. She squinted. "Ha?"

"You had this faraway look in your eyes a few seconds ago."

Looking away, Shiho kept herself from rolling her eyes. She raised her cup and took a sip from her drink, letting the warm liquid soothe her chilled throat. "Has hanging out with children affected your imagination too much, mister sleuth?"

He glared at her. She smirked. Grumbling under his breath, Shinichi settled into his seat in front of her as the kids chatted animatedly about long winters and snowy adventures.

* * *

Shinichi stirred, pulling his blanket closer to his body. Since he had been sleeping on only a small pillow and a thin mat, the floorboards creaked. He tensed, suddenly alert, and strained his ears to hear if he'd woken Shiho up.

Several seconds passed and he heard nothing. Shinichi relaxed, letting out the breath he had been holding. He closed his eyes, willing the darkness of sleep to claim him again.

Within the silence, all he could hear were his own breathing and the crackling of the fire. A log shifted, half-burnt.

His own...?

Shinichi shot up, turning his head towards the bed beside him. Blinking away the dizziness from his sudden movements, he trained his eyes on the bed, studying the figure, searching for the steady rise and fall of her chest.

It was still. Shinichi grabbed the blanket, not even realizing he had gotten up. But the blanket was laid out on the bed, unmade. What he mistook as a figure was her knapsack.

He snapped his head to the windows. Dark. It was still dark outside. _Shit. _If he wasn't awake before, he was now.

His chest throbbed and his mind raced as he scurried across the cabin, taking his coat and scarf from atop his pack. He opened the door and stepped outside before recoiling and stepping back. As the winter wind blew about him he looked down and cursed. His _shoes_. _Shit, shit, shit. _He turned and practically grabbed his shoes from beside the doorway, hastily fumbling and putting on his socks, all the while cursing the night, his shoes, and _her _for _why the hell isn't she in the cabin?!_

Shinichi stood up, stumbled, and shoved the door closed as he ran out._ Where is she? _He spun around, his breaths coming out in fast white puffs. There were only trees and snow and darkness. He couldn't discern any footsteps; the snow must've hidden most of it now.

"Shiho!"

The wind whistled. Snow kept falling around him.

"Shiho, where are you?!"

He ran to the lake, glancing around. There was a wider clearing to the west, a wide expanse of snow. Was she there? Shinichi took a step towards it before glancing back. Past the lake was a gradual slope towards a small hill, hidden behind snow-coated trees. The earliest hints of daylight shimmered over the tree line. Still, he couldn't see anything on the hill. Only trees. Boulders. But he could use the height as a vantage point.

Shinichi sped towards the slope, taking care to skirt the lake to avoid slipping. He kept his eyes on the top even as he felt his coat's pockets for his gun. From what he could recall it was loaded, but just in case, he measured his breaths, gathering his mana. He doubted he'd finish all loaded rounds, but he had to be ready to use his own reserves to charge the shells.

Paranoia nipped at his insides, and he tried to shove it aside. The Black Order was eradicated. It's been a year. Surely they've already dealt with the other branching insurgents. This was the North, and from what he, Akai, and Amuro had gathered, there were no branches anywhere within a hundred miles of the mountain.

So, whatever this was, it's unrelated. He'll be able to find Shiho as soon as possible, deal with the threat alone, and leave.

_Shit, _he had to calm down.

Soft rays of light reached further through the trees. As he brisk walked up the slope, his every step sinking inches into the snow, his eyes scanned what he could see below. The wide clearing of snow was devoid of any movement. The lake, tranquil and static. Still, his gaze swept regularly over the forest, to the path down the mountain, and the top. Focus. Be alert.

The sky was purple with wisps of red and orange. The light showed him more of his surroundings. He was near the top. Slowing down, he kept his form low. One hand reached inside his pocket, clutching his gun. Standing behind a sizeable boulder, he studied the way he came, looking for figures who may have followed him. Glancing further ahead, he saw a wide clearing covered with snow, with a few boulders jutting out.

And on one of them sat a lone figure.

"You know," they said, and the familiarity of the voice made his heart hum. He paused, blinking. "The other mountain probably heard your yodeling."

Shinichi let go of his gun and trudged away from the boulder, shaking his head. A sigh left his lips, along with all the tension of the past ten minutes. He glanced up to see Shiho looking back at him, an amused smile painted on her lips.

He felt the complaint in his throat, ready to lecture her for scaring the shit out of him and, just, _the nerve of her, really, to leave without waking him up, _but his mouth was somehow sealed.

As he walked over and watched the hues of early daylight spread over the trees and across the sky, watched the golden light silhouette her face and her smile, all he felt was relief, enough to make him want to melt into the snow. (He almost did, actually, melt and collapse.)

He clutched his head, hiding the smile he knew ached to appear. "Damn you," was all he could say.

Shiho chuckled. A soft muted sound, but it's all he heard in this wide snowy hilltop. As he neared her, she moved aside. He settled into the space beside her, feeling her warmth from her arm brushing against his own.

Both of them were silent as the sun gently rose from the horizon, bathing the snow with gold, adorning the trees with a soft pink hue. The sparkling lake mirrored the sky, painted too with dashes of gold and pink and white.

The sight quite literally took his breath away.

It was a while before any of them spoke, and Shiho was the first. "I read about this color back in the capital."

Shinichi turned, facing her, who still had a smile on her small lips. Maybe she wasn't aware of it, he thought. "Color?"

"This." She gestured to the sun and to the sky. "Rose gold."

"Rose gold?" Shinichi repeated her words, trying the word on his lips.

"I've never seen it naturally," she continued, glancing at him before watching the sky again. "Never thought I would."

He stared at her for a few more moments, taken in by the way the light caressed her delicate skin. The sky behind her lit up her hair, making the strands glisten in beautiful hues of pink and gold. In his eyes, Shiho glowed.

_Rose gold, _Shinichi thought, _fits her. _

"It fits you."

So he said it.

Shiho blinked, turning to him. He bit his tongue to stop a comment about her unexpected adorableness. "Okay?" She raised an eyebrow.

Shinichi chuckled, shaking his head.

"What's gotten into you?" she said, maybe-intentionally repeating his question from yesterday. He wondered if his eyes gave off a faraway look, too.

"Who knows," he said, leaning forward to rest his head on one hand. "Maybe it's because I had a rather _stressful _awakening." He glanced at her, narrowing his eyes for good measure.

She scoffed. "And you're blaming _me?_"

"Who else?"

"I didn't wake you up."

Shinichi looked away, grumbling. "Your absence woke me up."

She scowled at him now. "How is that my fault?"

"You didn't wake me up."

"What, you- I...?" Shiho sighed. "Never mind." She didn't say anything for a while, and Shinichi thought he won the argument before she said, "Then consider that payback for making me hike up a mountain."

He squinted at her. "You were enjoying yourself yesterday."

"I liked the kids, the lake, and the cabin. Not the hike."

"Tch." Shinichi glanced away, muttering to himself about rude and ungrateful women. She, of course, heard it and she felt her glare burn the side of his head before he even looked. He fought her glare with his own stare - at least, he intended to before his eyes wandered to her cheeks, to her hair, to _rose gold, _to the sparkles in the air around her.

Sparkles?

Shinichi blinked. Shiho noticed too, before she faced forward and gasped. He followed suit, and maybe, probably, let out a gasp of his own.

As the sun separated from the horizon, glimmering crystals floated around them, reflecting the gold and pink hues of the horizon. To him, to them, the crystals seemed to tinkle, dancing with the lightly falling snow. They floated towards the sky, and if he tried to reach for it, they seemed to twinkle out of sight. If Shinichi was speechless before, he was almost breathless now.

"Is this your doing, Shinichi?" Shiho whispered. She didn't sound like she believed her own question.

"No," he breathed out, turning to her, before the air was knocked out of his chest again.

Shiho's eyes were wide, sparkling, crystals of their own. The floating crystals lit up her face like stars in the daylight. Her smile was soft, subtle, like a secret only he was witness to, and once again Shinichi's heart hummed; his lips, rendered useless.

She reached out for the crystals. Shinichi knew what she was trying before seeing the faint green light after each tiny contact. "What is it?" he asked.

"Ice," she said, still in awe, though Shinichi could sense her attempt at disguising it. She continued to reach out, like a child witnessing the first fall of snow.

Shinichi chuckled, watching her, imprinting her face into his memory. He remembered another one of Shiho's complaints from yesterday and he smiled, raising a hand to hide it.

_This was why..._

"Hey, Shiho," he started. When she blinked and turned to him, he continued, "Yesterday you asked why I brought you into this."

Shiho tried to scoff, but her smile made it seem like a chuckle. "I ask that every day."

The smile, still hidden behind his hand, grew wider. "It's because of this."

She raised an eyebrow, confusion apparent in her eyes. "Ice crystals?"

He laughed. "No, that's ridiculous!"

"Then what is it?"

As Shinichi's laughter died out, he gazed at her again, at the way she raised an eyebrow, at the way the sun made her skin glow brighter than it already was. He thought of her face yesterday, when she saw the lake, when he returned with the kids to the cabin. Her many faces this morning, the way she smiled as the sun rose and the crystals glimmered.

"Shinichi?"

"Your expressions."

She paused, blinking. Her eyes narrowed. "Are you making fun of me?"

_She really can be cute sometimes, _he thought. The smile never left his face. "Back in the capital, you rarely made other expressions aside from that perpetually cold scowl."

"I do not-"

"But here," he interrupted her, reaching out his hand to touch her cheek, as if to pinch it, "I can see you make more expressions than the ones you show everyone."

Shiho was speechless. Shinichi noticed the budding signs of a blush on her cheeks and neck.

"You should do that more often, you know." He grinned. "Smile more often."

She sputtered, trying to reply. Maybe she wanted to say something snarky, sarcastic, or witty, like she always did, but her silence made his chest swell.

It took a while before she seemed to compose herself, shaking her head and waving off his hand.

"You're such an idiot," she muttered.

_But a satisfied idiot. _Shinichi chuckled and watched as she folded her arms and turned away, gazing back at the sky, the lake, and the snow.

He figured it was a stupid, selfish reason, but that's all that he thought of the moment he was told to bring only one companion on his quest. During his regular visits to her lab, she was usually only calm and taciturn. And then he'd approach her and her mouth would twitch to the sort of half-smile, half-scowl unique to her. He almost never found her outside the lab, as if all she ever did was work and go home.

And this was after the Black Order. She was worse before.

"Thank you, Shinichi."

He turned to her. Shiho still had her eyes trained on the view below them, but her face was calm, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

Shinichi smiled, knowing she probably didn't need his reply. Her voice was soft, as if she had shared another secret only he could hear. He had a feeling she wasn't only thanking him for this, but he kept quiet, letting the words mingle with the fading crystals and the brightening sky.

He regarded the soothing warmth of the sun as the cause of the thrumming warmth in his chest.

* * *

_apricity. _(n) the warmth of the sun on a cold winter's day

* * *

May you have a wonderful holiday!


End file.
